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From Fro-Yo to slop bowls, food fads never stay for long.
Remember when every shopping center had a frozen yogurt shop? Now, Raleigh is slopping it like it’s hot—arguably entering its next great food-fad era. And this time, it’s BYO bowls.
From national chains like Sweetgreen and CAVA to local eateries adding their own opts, so-called “slop bowls” are everywhere.
The customizable concoctions—typically a base of greens, grains and toppings that get noticeably wetter the more you prod them with a fork—have become the de facto corporate lunch. By the time you make it back to your cubicle, the contents often resemble their internet-betrothed name: slop.
And Raleigh can’t seem to get enough. Bowls boasting Mediterranean, Mexican or Asian-dubbed flavors have multiplied across the city, with chains and independents alike vying for a piece of the market. It’s enough to conjure visions of the Fro-Yo boom, when seemingly every shopping center had a self-serve shop stocked with toppings and promises of healthier indulgence.
The pattern is familiar: A concept catches fire, competitors rush in and suddenly the market feels crowded. We’ve seen it play out time and time again: Cupcakes, Crumbl Cookies and towering “freakshakes” piled high with whipped cream and candy all had their moment in the sun.
Nevertheless, food fads tend to disappear almost as quickly as they arrive—and the CAVA, Chopt and Chipotle locations clustered within blocks of one another recalls the plethora of crazes before them that seemed just as ubiquitous. But as of now, Raleigh seems to be fully on-board.
In a city with a constant craving for what’s next, trends easily take hold, with several restaurants clumsily and quickly opening to feed the fad. The question isn’t whether Raleigh likes bowls—the answer appears to be a resounding yes. The true test comes once the novelty wears off—and then comes the question: Can the city sustain 10+ BYO-bowl concepts once the trend inevitably cools? Maybe. Maybe not.
If the market is any indicator, the excitement may already be waning. As of December, Sweetgreen, CAVA and Chipotle had lost a combined $48 billion in market value.
Meanwhile, the food-fad cycle keeps spinning. Candy stores are having a moment in larger cities, and frozen yogurt may be staging a comeback (see: the 20-plus-min. lines in NYC). But like the storefronts of food trends past, today’s darlings will eventually be forced out to make room for whatever en vogue eat catches consumer eyes next. Until then? Slop on.
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